Social networking has become immensely popular among adolescents and teenagers, and even adults. Another step toward an always-connected lifestyle, social networking connects users with their friends in almost every way (web activity, location, current activity status, photo sharing, etc.). The two major web-based networking applications are MySpaceand Facebook. MySpace is more popular with teenagers and young adults while Facebook is more popular among older adults and professionals.
It's always useful to be familiarized with what students are doing outside of school. Also, some teachers may find these sites helpful in professional networking. That being said, teachers should be strongly advised against adding students to their social networking accounts. If this does become the case, communication should be limited and should be of an entirely professional nature. Follow the links below to read about what happens when teacher/student communication on a social networking site goes wrong.
Social Networking: Building a Classroom Community
Social networking has become immensely popular among adolescents and teenagers, and even adults. Another step toward an always-connected lifestyle, social networking connects users with their friends in almost every way (web activity, location, current activity status, photo sharing, etc.). The two major web-based networking applications are MySpaceand Facebook. MySpace is more popular with teenagers and young adults while Facebook is more popular among older adults and professionals.
It's always useful to be familiarized with what students are doing outside of school. Also, some teachers may find these sites helpful in professional networking. That being said, teachers should be strongly advised against adding students to their social networking accounts. If this does become the case, communication should be limited and should be of an entirely professional nature. Follow the links below to read about what happens when teacher/student communication on a social networking site goes wrong.
Teacher Loses Teaching Certificate because of MySpace Photo
The school district's response.